Uttarakhand High Court ordered an immediate halt to illegal sand mining in the Kosi River in Bazpur tehsil

Concerning the Kosi River:

Created by the merging of Sun Kosi, Arun Kosi, and Tamur Kosi rivers, which arise in the Himalayan areas of Nepal and Tibet.

Regions it traverses: Passes through China (Tibet), Nepal, and India — mainly through Bihar in India.

Tributaries of Kosi: Notable tributaries consist of Sun Kosi, Tama Koshi (Tamba Koshi), Dudh Koshi, Indravati, Likhu, Arun, Tamor.

Kosi is a feeder of: The Kosi eventually joins the Ganges River south of Purnea (Bihar), feeding into the Ganga basin.

Main Characteristics of Kosi River:

Distance: approximately 450 miles (724 kilometers).

Catchment area: 74,500 sq km (11,070 sq km within India).

Referred to as the “Grief of Bihar” due to regular flooding and shifting channels to the west.

Intensely braided, lacking a fixed channel — leading to significant debris accumulation and flood hazards.

Regulated by the Chatra Gorge dam for flood control, irrigation, hydropower generation, and fishing.

The fertile sandy soils of the river valley enable maize farming.